Modern Language Association (MLA) Style Guide: Introduction

Introduction

MLA STYLE GUIDE

The MLA Style Manual is the official manual of style of the Modern Language Association. Developed to provide guidance and information for those writing and publishing, the Style Manual is currently in its eighth edition.

The MLA Style Manual Manual is used extensively by students, faculty, researchers, and professionals who write and publish in the fields of Literature, Linguistics, Communication Studies, Performing Arts, Philosophy, and Religion, although other styles are also used in these fields.

Which style guide should you use? The one your professor requires, so be sure to ask. If you plan to submit a paper for publication, be sure to confirm the correct style. Nearly all publications will identify and give some direction about how manuscripts should be submitted for publication. If not in the publication, guidance will be offered on publishers' websites, or the websites of the organization for whom the journal title is published, if relevant.

Please take a few moments to click on the tabs and various links in order to familiarize yourself with the resources made available through this guide.

* MLA Logos viewed on this guide are the property of the Modern Language Association. While we highly recommend the MLA as the best source for the MLA Style, the appearance of the MLA logo, or the MLS Style Centre logo, does not imply any endorsement of this guide by MLA, nor do the guide's authors, the Rowan University Libraries or Rowan University make any such claim thereof.

Links to Useful Resources

N.B.

Note that while the following links offer great citation examples, based on the MLA Style Manual, inaccuracies and issues can arise. Pay attention to the edition of the MLA Manual you are using. The new 8th edition contains some significant changes. You will benefit immensely if you take the time to familiarize yourself with the MLA manual so you can adjust or correct as needed. If your professor does not specifically request an earlier edition, use the 8th edition.

The MLA Style Center

Link to Writing Resources for the Modern Language Association. Go to the source for help and guidance.

Helpful Titles in the Library or Online

MLA Handbook
by The Modern Language Association of America

Call Number: Ref. LB2369 .G53 2016

ISBN: 9781603292627

Publication Date: 2016-04-01

The Modern Language Association, the authority on research and writing, takes a fresh look at documenting sources in the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook. Works are published today in a dizzying range of formats. A book, for example, may be read in print, online, or as an e-book--or perhaps listened to in an audio version. On the Web, modes of publication are regularly invented, combined, and modified. Previous editions of the MLA Handbook provided separate instructions for each format, and additional instructions were required for new formats. In this groundbreaking new edition of its best-selling handbook, the MLA recommends instead one universal set of guidelines, which writers can apply to any type of source. Shorter and redesigned for easy use, the eighth edition of the MLA Handbook guides writers through the principles behind evaluating sources for their research. It then shows them how to cite sources in their writing and create useful entries for the works-cited list. More than just a new edition, this is a new MLA style.

Writers Reference
by Diana T. Hacker

Call Number: PE 1408 .H2778 2001

ISBN: 9780312401610

Publication Date: 2001-11-01

EasyBib Add-On

The easiest automatic bibliography citation generator is now on Google Docs!. Format in MLA, APA, Harvard, and over 7K more styles!

The Bibliography Creator by EasyBib allows you to easily create a bibliography for your research paper. Automatically cite books, journal articles, and websites just by entering tites or URLs. Format citations in MLA, APA, Chicago, Harvard, and over 7K other styles. When you're finished creating your bibliography, click Generate Bibliography and we'll alphabetize your citations and add them to the end of your paper.

MLA Style Citation Builders

Note this is the 7th edition. For the 8th edition, look for a link on the website of the 7th edition. As of the last update of this website, the 8th edition was not yet available, but updates occur regularly so please look..

YouTube Tutorials on MLA, 7th and 8th Editions

If you are new to MLA, or if has been a while, we recommend you follow the links immediately below. These will provide a detailed view of the citation process. These were developed for the 7th edition. The YouTube Video pictured here included an informative instruction about using the 8th edition and highlight some of the changes that have been made.

Links here take you to helpful tutorials about MLA Style, 7th ed. There are four:

Links to Helpful Resources

The Legacy version will soon disappear so we recommend you use the new Refworks. RefWorks is a Citation and Bibliographic Management tools, which the library provides to students and faculty at no cost. Complete the short easy registration once and access. To take full advantage of the range of tools available, we recommend you open YouTube, search for RefWorks and watch the tutorials. You'll be an expert in no time. A few minute to set up and learn to use RefWorks will save you hours of frustration and make you look brilliant.

"The Online Writing Lab (OWL) at Purdue University houses writing resources and instructional material, and we provide these as a free service of the Writing Lab at Purdue. Students, members of the community, and users worldwide will find information to assist with many writing projects. Teachers and trainers may use this material for in-class and out-of-class instruction." (source: website)

MLA (Modern Language Association) style is most commonly used to write papers and cite sources within the liberal arts and humanities. This resource, updated to reflect the MLA Handbook (8th ed.), offers examples for the general format of MLA research papers, in-text citations, endnotes/footnotes, and the Works Cited page.(source:website)

About this Libguide

This site is maintained by Phyllis Meredith with the intention of introducing and providing links to resources that explain support the Modern Language Associations (MLA) Style Guide.

Rowan Library LibGuides are hosted on the Springshare LibGuides Portal, to which Rowan University Libraries subscribes. Please send comments, suggestions, corrections to Phyllis Meredith. Her email link is provided in the Subject Librarian Profile.

Rowan University makes no claim to freely available websites nor does it accept responsibility for the information or opinions expressed by those who have created or authored the content or by those who are quoted on the sites.

The use of this guide infers acceptance of theTerms of Use, spelled out on the Rowan University Libraries site. If you do not agree to abide by these terms you are required to leave the site.